


Welcome to Slaughterville

by deadlikemoi



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: All things pumpkin and spicey, Allergies and reactions, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben is a tattooed Marine, F/F, F/M, Living that pumpkin patch life, M/M, Mentions of Ben/Bazine, Mentions of Rose/Phasma, Rey keeps her eyes on the pies, Rey might've died in his arms tonight, So many pie puns, Told over a series of fall seasons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 14:55:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21038054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadlikemoi/pseuds/deadlikemoi
Summary: Pumpkins! Apples! Hay bales! Tractor rides!Rey is like a kid who has stepped foot inside a candy store for the first time in her life. This is her sanctuary and these are her people. Men and women walk around them, clad different colors of plaids, flannels, and jeans that make ogling easy.Finn whistles from beside her, enunciating her exact thoughts. "This is paradise."The two of them are attending sans one Rose Tico; things are going fabulously over at Phasma's place and she can't bring herself to leave. Best friends understand situations like that.Rose:Pinch some booties for me pleaseFinn:You've already got your hands full.Finn:No additional booty for you.Rey:Butts, butts, butts





	Welcome to Slaughterville

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ElleRen31](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElleRen31/gifts).

> The lovely Elle asked for the following prompt: Pumpkin Patch AU. Ben’s family owns a farm that hosts a pumpkin patch every fall for the public. There are hay rides, corn mazes, a petting zoo, and best of all - picking your own pumpkin. Imagine Ben in a plaid shirt with his bulging muscles loading pumpkins into the back of your minivan. The one thing the farm is lacking in is a Pumpkin Spice Latte, much to the disappointment of Rey - who has come to the pumpkin patch with her friends. Cue tons of sexual tension between Ben and Rey, suggestive puns involving pie, and most importantly - a roll in the hay. Doesn’t have to be literal.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this! I loved writing this for you ❤️❤️
> 
> Please note: Rey is hospitalized after an allergic reaction and Han is hospitalized due to a heart attack. Everyone is fine, but please be advised that these moments factor into the larger story

"It's Fall, y'all! Pumpkinpalooza starts this weekend at The Solo Family Farms. Always remember, you miss this and we won't see you until December! Located right off I-35 in Slaughterville!" 

Rey nearly chokes on the hot tea she's drinking, between the name of the town and the hunky men driving the large tractors in the background, it is clear they need to make a stop there as soon as possible. 

"Did I hear that right?" One of her roommates, Finn, steps out of the kitchen, a plate piled high with sandwiches and chips. He'd spent the last twelve hours in the library working on his literature review. Most of them only come home for sustenance on weekdays. 

"That sounds like a scary movie waiting to happen, it's the perfect setting." 

Footsteps pound down the stairs, and Rey waits for Rose to burst in. She isn't disappointed. 

"Are you talking about Slaughterville?! My sister and I went there a few times back when she was still a student here. They have all these pumpkin snacks and treats," she grins as she swipes away an errant line of lipstick. "The people that work there are snacks too." 

Finn perks up from his seat on the worn in couch they found for $5.50 at the local Goodwill, just before it was meant to discount down to $.75. "Pie and men in tight pants? Sign me up." 

*

September 26, 2016 marks the first day of fall, the Autumnal Equinox, the first time day and night are on equal terms in the calendar year. Rey wakes that morning with the urge to throw on a chunky sweater dress with her beige leggings, boots, and the brown infinity scarf she wore to death the previous year. 

Fall is officially here, and she is more than ready, but the heat continues on.

Since she moved to the United States, to Oklahoma, for college, Rey has loved experiencing the seasons, even if only for a minute. There is more to the weather here than just rain and chill. 

It is only Monday which means a long week ahead for all of them. Sometimes a little bit of an incentive is necessary. 

"Good morning," Rey greets Rose and Finn and hears a chorus of it sent back to her. "Can we make plans for this weekend so I can survive until then?" 

"I have a date on Friday night, but I can make it home on Saturday in time for an afternoon out." 

Finn watches Rose finish her omelette with a smile on her face. "How do you know that you'll be spending the night?" 

Rose laughs loudly, and Rey covers her mouth to stop her own laughter from spilling out. It's possible that he's been so absent, both physically and of mind, that he's completely missed Rose's pursuit of Phasma. 

Phasma—she surely has a first or last name but is always known by the single moniker like Cher—is a Ph.D student at the University of Oklahoma, the same University where they are all enrolled. 

No one really knows how Rose ran into the other woman last semester, but since then she's been on a mission. 

Apparently Phasma is something of a celebrity within the LGBTQIA community; so many women, so little time, and they all came back drunk off the experience and dying for more.

"Please, Finn. _Please._ There's no question about that." Rey is happy to see her friend so excited for a date and has no doubt that she'll be invited in for a cup of coffee, or more, as the night draws to a close.

"Yeah, Finn, have some faith!" She picks up a small mandarin and lobs it at him, missing widely enough that there's no chance of hitting him while also allowing him time to pluck it from the air before it smashes into the wall or window. 

The baby orange finds its way into his backpack, and he is rushing off before her toast pops up from the toaster. "Don't forget about Saturday!" She calls after him, hearing the door shut mere seconds later. 

The week does nothing but drag as slowly as humanly possible, as if it knows how much she's looking forward to the weekend. By now, the weather is still a bit too warm, but the leaves are starting to change so while she might want a Pumpkin Spice Latte more than she can accurately describe, she will have to take the iced version for now. 

She smiles happily at the barista manning the counter that morning at Michelangelo's. The menu and specials board don’t say anything about the PSL, but it never hurts to ask, right?

"Hi there... Larry. I know it's not listed on the menu, but is it possible to get something close to a pumpkin spice latte? What kind of syrups do you have?" 

The man who couldn't be any more than 21 years old has the audacity to dramatically roll his eyes at her question. So much for customer service. "We don't start offering the seasonal holiday flavors until at least the middle of October. I can add some pumpkin spice flavored syrup to the regular latte?" 

It isn't phrased in the form of a question, only the variance at the end of his sentence gives the implication that he's offering her something that she can agree to. 

"Oh, um—no, that's alright. Just a regular iced latte, please." The British blood running through her body doesn't allow her to be rude even if it's what she's receiving from the other person. Take it on the chin and turn the other cheek, Rey. Besides it definitely doesn't pay to piss off someone who handles your food or drink. 

"Thanks so much!" Maybe it is a little disingenuous, a little too sweet, but you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

It's Friday morning which means she only has two more classes to get through before she can head home and either get started on homework or take a nap. Tough life choices. If her last two years of college have taught her anything, it's that you miss 100% of the sleep you don't take. 

Any pre-planned ideas are tossed straight out the window when she turns on the television and sits down on to the couch, initially just so there is some sort of background noise, but then she is sucked in and less than thirty minutes later her eyes are closed, and she is snoring at the decibel level of a lawn mower. 

She is awakened when both Rose and Finn return home, deeply entrenched in conversation where they find her stretching and yawning. It's only 1:45, leaving many hours left in the day to get shit done. 

*

Pumpkins! Apples! Hay bales! Tractor rides! 

Rey is like a kid who has stepped foot inside a candy store for the first time in her life. This is her sanctuary and these are her people. Men and women walk around them, clad different colors of plaids, flannels, and jeans that make ogling easy. 

Finn whistles from beside her, enunciating her exact thoughts. "This is paradise." 

The two of them are attending sans one Rose Tico; things are going fabulously over at Phasma's place and she can't bring herself to leave. Best friends understand situations like that.

> **Rose:** Pinch some booties for me please
> 
> **Finn:** You've already got your hands full. 
> 
> **Finn:** No additional booty for you.
> 
> **Rey:** Butts, butts, butts

"What should we do first, fellow singleton?"

The food stall is calling to her, whispering in her ear to lure her in. "Are you hungry?" 

He laughs, not at all surprised. "I know you are. C'mon." Linking arms, they saunter over to an area that houses multiple food vendors with drinks, sweets, and desserts. 

Rey is lucky enough to have a pretty serious allergy to tree nuts as well as peanuts, so they are both used to double checking every food for potential allergens. More often than not, she spends minutes double checking possible recipes if the people working the kitchens aren't involved in the preparation of food. 

There is still only one thing on her mind as she pulls Finn behind her, making a beeline for the station that is providing visitors with freshly brewed coffee and tea, but he seems to have other ideas. 

"Fresh apple tarts, Rey. Fresh. Apple. Tarts. I can smell the spice from here." She can smell them in the air too, her stomach grumbling in agreement. It's been hours since breakfast. 

The staff are nicely interrogated about all the ingredients in the tarts, all parties verifying that no nuts are used in the preparation of the tarts, and they smell so good it's impossible not to order at least two slices each. Whatever they use, it practically melts in her mouth, maybe an appreciative groan or two slipping out before she can catch herself and close her mouth. 

"See? Totally worth it." It's impossible not to agree, and they stop just beyond the dozen sets of picnic tables, watching a pair of men cart oversized pumpkins into the back of minivans and pickup trucks. Even from such a distance, she can see their muscles bulge where the sleeves of their plaid patterned flannels are rolled up. "One for you, and one for me." 

"I need something to quench this thirst." 

It isn't a lie; Rey's dry spell is reaching epic proportions, since the spring semester of her freshman year, almost a year and a half ago. 

The line for the coffee shop is exceedingly long, but Finn keeps his mouth mostly shut while his back is turned to Rey, still taking mental measurements of both men.

After two iced lattes doused in raw sugar and pumpkin cream, they walk off toward a large maze made out of hay and cornstalks. It smells like candy corn and extreme amounts of sugar, just her thing, and she has decided this is her happy place, bar none. 

"This is—" Rey turns to Finn, full fear present in her eyes as she tries to swallow unsuccessfully. Her throat begins to close up, the drink falling to the ground in a nearly soundless explosion of liquid, and the skin over her face and neck starts to itch. 

There is an EpiPen always stashed in her purse for situations like this, but the anaphylaxis is setting in far too quickly for her to grab it as she struggles to maintain consciousness. 

She croaks out Finn's name, or at least she tries to, but all she can really make out are his screams for help when she hits the ground and succumbs to the darkness pulling at her so forcefully.

* 

The first thing she realizes is that there's an awful lot of noise around her, and though she wants to tell the machines and the people to tone it down just a bit, she literally can't speak. Next, she struggles to open her eyes over the comfort that having them closed brings her. 

A hand closes over her own, "Rey? Sweetie? It's me, it's Rose. Squeeze my hand if you can hear me." She isn't sure if all her muscles and tendons cooperate as she attempts to do as Rose asks, but she manages a nervous hum in response. 

"You scared me nearly to death. Finn is here too." Her voice drops down to a near whisper and she can feel her friend's breath on her face when she speaks, "And that man who saved you? Take me, Paul Bunyan." 

It takes a few minutes, but soon enough her eyes are open and she's blinking away at the sunlight pouring in from the open blinds on the window to her left side. Rose is still holding onto her right hand, smiling up at her, while Finn sleeps on the only other chair in the room beside her. 

"What happened?" 

Her friend leans in closer, intending to converse quietly to allow Finn to continue sleeping, "There was a small amount of almond butter in the coffee shop, so there was some contamination. Just a little, but enough. Poor Finn completely blanked on your EpiPen, but luckily one of the people working in the area carries one on hand to deal with his bee allergy. He saved your life, Rey. I've never been so scared..." Tears collect at her lash line and all Rey wants to do is hold her friend, but her body hurts in a way that is utterly indescribable. 

"How was your date?" 

She shakes her head and offers no answer. "We can talk about that later. For now, get some rest and get better. I won't have you shake loose this mortal coil just yet, you hear me?" 

*

The doctors think it best to keep her one more night, if only to make sure that she's able to eat a few whole meals without any additional reactions. The Sooner welcome wagon meets her out front, Finn falling all over himself to remedy every ill he thinks he's brought to her. 

"It wasn't your fault, really." She kisses his cheek and hugs him tight. 

Her clothes, a pair of skinny jeans and a light three-fourth sleeved shirt, feel scratchy against her skin with each movement she makes. The drive back to their house takes no time at all, and she barricades herself in the shared bathroom once they're home. 

For how long she stays submerged below the layer of beautifully scented bubbles she doesn't know, but it must be hours by the time Rose rushes her out and into her bed. 

"You need to rest, so stay here or so help me god." 

That is always Rose's threat, 'so help me god', is always more bark than bite, but the love attached is never forgotten or ignored. 

The aftereffects keep her down and out for a few more days, and by the weekend she is ready to head right on back out to Slaughterville. 

"Rey, no." 

"No, Rose, listen. I need to thank that guy, the one who used his EpiPen." If Rose makes some sort of face behind her back, Rey is completely oblivious. 

Both Finn and Rose accompany her on Friday night, each too terrified of what she might get into this time if she's left to her own devices. Bathed in the light from carved pumpkins and lanterns, the atmosphere is exceedingly different. 

Where during the day it is a space for families, at night the farm is made to scare. People in costume stalk around, food wrappers and dehydrated corn husks crunching underfoot, everything is set to make them jump and scream. Men and women are dressed as vampires, werewolves, and other blood suckers, seeming to find joy in the fear of others. 

There is a 19 or 20 year old girl selling entry tickets right off the parking lot, appearing completely uninterested as she chews her gum and inspects her fingernails. "$25 a piece or 2 for $45. How many?" 

"We need to talk to two of the men who work in there. One is very tall and the other—" Rey tries to explain. 

"Like I haven't heard that a million times." She snaps her gum. "You pay or you don't get in, them's the breaks." 

Rose sidles up to the podium where the other girl is standing. "Hey, you're cute. What time do you get off?" 

"Rose!" Rey tries to reprimand her friend with a straight face, but can't quite make it through. "We'll take three, whatever the best deal is." 

The girl, her name tag declares that she is Kaydel, continues to eye up the petite Asian woman who is still staring unrepentantly at her. "Tell you what... I'll give you a deal—3 for $60." 

"We'll take it." Rey slaps down three $20 bills and pulls her friends along behind her. Rose is determined to continue making heart eyes at the girl, but comes back to her senses once they've put enough distance between them. 

"Focus," she all but screeches at Rose. "Did either of you get a good look at the guy?" 

Almost everyone on staff is equipped with a mask to hide their face. It is easy enough to discount the individuals with more feminine curves, but with costumed men as far as the eye can see, they know they have their work cut out for them. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Rey sees a wolf tear off his mask, shoving it up under his bicep, the biceps that are squeezed to his muscular chest, covered in a black henley. "I wish people would watch where they're going." He mutters under his breath while he makes adjustments to the bales of hay someone must have pushed onto the ground from where they were stacked one on top of another. 

Finn is quickly at her side, whispering in her ear, "that's him! The wolf man." 

Of course it’s him. The man looks like he is barely contained inside his clothing, like with one quick movement his shirt and his pants will be in tatters and women all over the world will rejoice this day. 

"Earth to Rey." A hand is waved in front of her face, bringing her back into her flustered body. 

"Oh—sorry." She approaches as tentatively as possible, somehow worried that a misstep will startle him before she can get close enough. It’s luck, then, that he is fully absorbed in his task. Her hand is a few inches shy of touching him when he looks up with wide eyes and a noticeable intake of breath. 

Words fail her for a few heartbeats until she realizes how awkward this must all look. "What's your name?" 

"What? Do you just walk up to people asking their name? What's _your_ name?" 

"Me? My name is Rey." She is pointing at herself when understanding seems to dawn on him. 

He swallows a few times, his adam's apple bobbing vigorously. "Rey... You're that girl—the one from the weekend, aren't you?" 

Finally, she smiles, her belly warming with the thought that he knows her name. "Unfortunately, yes, that's me. I actually came here to thank you for saving my life. I don't know what would've happened if—"

"I can't believe that even _almost_ happened. I had the kitchens thoroughly sanitized, any and all allergens removed," he is speaking more to their feet than to her directly, his cheeks growing more and more red, until a woman approaches. Rey supposes her outfit is meant to look like a skeleton, but all it actually is is a skintight black bodysuit with what appears to be white tape creating the bones. It's cheap, but Rey also supposes that if you look like that... it really doesn't matter how much effort you put into a costume. 

"_Baaaaaby_," this woman speaks in an overly drawn out manner, adding a bit of whine to the word. 

For all intents and purposes, he ignores her after his eyes connect with Rey's once again. "I'm Ben." 

And Rey doesn't realize it in that moment, but those two words are enough. 

She's gone. 

*

The three friends dedicate the rest of the weekends leading up to Halloween at the Solo farm. Rey is able to write it off as a need, not necessarily like she wants to be there for any specific reason. 

"We need some pumpkins," she declares on a Tuesday night over pizza. 

Their house is decorated sparingly with a collection of Halloween and fall themed items, but something is missing, something she can't quite put her finger on. 

Rose stands outside, inspecting the wooden welcome sign that lays against the side of the wall right next to the door. "Didn't we have a wreath before?"

"No, I don't think so." Rey pretends to be busy so no one can get a glimpse of her smile. 

The other girl sighs from behind her, "I guess we'll need to find one then."

Finn pops out from the alleyway beside the house. "The Solo farm has a great selection of wreaths." 

Both Rey and Rose turn to look at him, surprised and without a word to say. "What? I've been helping the family with their website." 

Silence echoes around them as they continue to stare. "What?!" 

"Someone's got some secrets," Rey says, ignoring the irony of her own comment. 

*

It is October 16th, and the second they step foot onto the property, they are ambushed by two men dressed in similar style: Ben is wearing a plaid flannel colored with blues, beige, and black while Poe is wearing an identical flannel with greens instead. The fall chill comes and goes with the day, so seeing their strong forearms bared with their sleeves rolled up above their elbows is a sight, leaving Rey concentrating far too hard on the tattoos that cover Ben's arms. 

Rey hears hushed hellos to her right, seeing Finn and Poe stuck in a long embrace when she finally tears her gaze away from the towering lumberjack that is Poe's brother. 

"Hey Rey," Poe says as he scratches the back of his neck, still keeping his left hand on Finn's hip. 

"Poe, Ben, hello." There is no reason for the heat to build up into a blush on her cheeks, but still it happens completely against her will. 

"We haven't seen you around lately." Maybe Poe sees what she doesn't want anyone to pick up on or maybe he's simply kind. 

Rey looks around at everything but the two men, catching the tractor carrying a pack of kids and their exhausted parents. "Oh, you know," she laughs lightly, "always busy with school these days. Midterms are afoot." 

"Glad I got to miss out on all of that." Ben grins down at her from his spectacular height. All of his mismatched features come together to create a depressingly handsome man, depressing when he already belongs to someone else. 

"Did you?" 

He nods and messes with the button over his abs, she just knows that there's something amazing and miraculous under those layers. "Yep, went right into the Marines after high school. I only came back a few years ago when my parents needed the help." 

"My brother here came in to save the day. Packed up his entire life, including the fiancée, when dad had his first heart attack." 

"We don't have to talk about that." 

He shows no outward sign of it, but she gets the sense that he's uncomfortable talking about himself and would much rather divert the conversation and attention elsewhere. 

And she is happy to help. "So, Solo men, I need a pumpkin spice latte immediately, but I'm really here to find a wreath for our door. Right, Finn?" 

Finn jumps away from Poe as if startled. "Yeah, yep. That's right." 

Ben keeps his stride shorter than usual to stay in step with Rey as Finn and Poe slowly meander their way around behind them. 

"How long has this been going on?" Rey nudges her chin back behind them, being rewarded with a low chuckle from him. 

"A few weeks, give or take. You should thank Finn, actually." 

"Oh? And why is that?" 

He kicks a large rock with his boot. "We stopped serving any kind of specialty drink after that whole thing happened," he casts a glance her way, but continues to look straight ahead as they walk. "He pestered us—well mostly me, about that damn pumpkin spice latte until I put it back on the menu." 

Her body immediately stops moving, forcing him to walk back a few steps to continue their conversation. "What? You did that?" 

"Uh, yeah. I worried that it might happen to someone else. We've changed a lot since the last time you were here." 

Walking fully into the pumpkin patch, she is able to see that with her own eyes. Where the little shack in the middle sold both food and drinks before, now there is a tent set up on its own. 

"We couldn't find the exact cause for the contamination, so we shut down all production for at least a week. Our beverage service came first and he went hard for the 'PSL'," he uses his fingers to create quotation marks in the air. 

She can't stop herself from swooning internally, quietly, where no one else can see or hear. "And you did it?" 

He kicks out at something again, a distraction from the point of their conversation. "Of course. We'd do anything for our customers." 

*

She is not sure how it happens or when, but over the fall and into winter Ben and Poe easily get absorbed into their group of friends. It makes sense when you consider that Finn is a smitten kitten over Poe, and Rose has continued to chase after their sister Kaydel. 

They all celebrate New Years together, Poe and Finn, Rose and Kaydel, Ben and Bazine, and Rey with her fourth rum and coke of the evening. Rose pulls her into a shared kiss with Kaydel to ring in the start of 2017. 

The start of a new year and new beginnings. 

It isn't her fault if her eyes catch on Ben's more than a few times over the course of the night. It's happenstance, that's all. 

*

Things can change quickly in the span of a few months. It is August, and Finn and Rose have both settled into monogamous relationships with Poe and Kaydel, respectively, while Rey's getting very familiar with the inner workings of Tinder. 

She finds that she's not picky, not really, and she will happily agree to a meet up for coffee before they end up at someone's house if their first interaction isn't an unsolicited dick pic. She does have _some_ standards, alright? 

One of her more gentlemanly paramours, a man named Rush Clovis, takes her for brunch at one of her favorite local restaurants, a hole in the wall place called syrup. down on E. Main Street. 

"This is so good," she's eating off her own fork and from his when he offers it up to her. All in all, he's a great guy. 

A sliver of her cinnamon roll pancakes still sit untouched on his plate as he offers her more of the waffle, egg, bacon and cheese concoction he'd ordered, and she nearly has her mouth around the fairly large bite of food when someone calls out her name, startling her thoroughly. 

"Rey? Is that you?" Both of them look up to see Poe and Ben standing a few feet away, a large bag of food in Ben's tattooed arms. 

Her heart is happy to see them, but her stomach is still craving more, and no one will blame her for eating the proffered bit of food before standing up to hug them both. "Hey guys, what's going on?" 

Poe is only a couple inches taller than her which makes hugging him no great feat, but she always feels like a little girl about to try climbing up the giant beanstalk when she stands in front of Ben. 

"Getting breakfast," the beanstalk remarks as he rubs her back for a few short seconds. "The oven finally bit it so until our parents can get a new one, we must venture out to avoid succumbing to cannibalism."

The giggles that bubble out of her aren't too far from normal, though Poe seems to be the only one to give her an odd look in response before he motions to the table she just leapt up from, "and who's this?" 

"This is Rush," and she nods to the dark haired man still sitting at the table, eating away like nothing else is happening. "Rush, these are the Solo brothers, Poe and Ben. Poe's dating one of my roommates and Ben is a friend." 

"Hello." 

Both brothers wave as Rey walks back to her seat. "Don't let your food get cold. It's almost fall, you know what that means, don't you?" 

*

Not two days later, the three of them are helping switch up some decorations around the pumpkin patch.

"What do you think about these?" Kaydel holds up a wire basket full of differently colored small pumpkins. "My mom thinks she's an artist now." 

Rey is opening her mouth to answer when Ben struts by in a too tight white shirt, and all semblance of logical thought leaves her behind. "It's called art therapy, Kaydel, and it's more artistic talent than you have in your entire body." 

"Go fuck a duck, Benjamin." 

"I think the phrase is 'suck a duck,' dear sister." 

Try as she might, their sibling squabbles warm her in a way that the hot Oklahoma sun never can. "Poe! Where's Poe? He needs to get in on this too." 

"Don't think that we won't turn on you next, Rey. You might not be family yet, but you're close enough." Kaydel takes a step closer, attempting and failing to appear menacing. 

Rey stands up straight and looks down at the other girl from her superior height. "You're adorable, littlest Solo." 

Ben shakes his head and walks away, carrying a box of somethings that make his muscles bulge out in a transcendently beautiful way. 

*

It is nearly the end of September 2017 when Rey returns to the house after almost two days spent crouched over a table in the library and finds a random car in the driveway. It looks familiar, a beat up black truck that has seen better days, but nothing sparks in her mind enough for her to place it.

Tentatively she steps inside, getting hit immediately with the lovely aroma of nutmeg and cinnamon before she's over the threshold. Someone has been burning her candles.

"Hello?" 

The first sound she hears is the decompression of the worn springs on the couch, followed by paws and claws padding down the hall to where she's paused next to the door. She is able to form some sound of surprise, a loud "OOOF!", when the four legged guest collides with her, knocking her down onto her back with the amount of force the dog carries along with him.

"What is going on? Who are you?" She asks aloud, getting no answer from the golden retriever currently licking away at her chin. 

"This is Bee-Bee, Poe's dog. I'm babysitting," comes the deep, dulcet tones she immediately recognizes. 

"Do you mean Bee-bee-sitting?" She asks, and Ben looks down at her, sprawled on her back, enjoying the attention from the slightly obese dog. 

He laughs. It is a beautiful sound. "So why are you and Bee-Bee here?" 

She isn't sure how it happens, can't really believe the sight before her eyes, but he folds and bends himself enough to fit inside the narrow hallway next to her. "Poe and Finn went out to get muffins. Finn said you'd need the sugar—I suggested doughnuts, but what do I know—so they went out to get some. That was hours ago. So, The Bee and I have been sitting around, waiting. Sorry." 

Now it's her turn to laugh. "You don't have to apologize," she struggles to sit up and smiles at him and at Bee-bee, and everything else too. "Are you bored?" 

He nods his head. 

"Follow me." 

They clamber up, a lot of long limbs and heavy breaths, and she pushes him onto the couch while she heads directly to the kitchen. There is a pie hidden in the back of one of the shelves that she has been saving for a moment like this. Grabbing two forks, she slips down next to him on the couch, maybe a little too close but that's necessary for sharing and presses the button on their Roku remote to bring up Prime Video. 

"Pumpkin?" 

"It is fall, after all." 

He rewards her with more laughter. "Right. And what are we watching?" 

"Only my favorite film of all time." He looks straight ahead at the television, waiting for her to direct the cursor to the answer. "Any guesses?" 

Scooping up a large piece of pie, he thinks on it as he chews. "Twilight?" 

Rey nearly jumps to her feet in shock and disgust. "Excuse me, Benjamin Solo. _Excuse. Me._" 

"No?" The left side of his lips starts to rise up in the stirrings of a smile. "Pitch Perfect?" 

Now she is standing over him, looking down on him for the first time and enjoying the vantage point she will probably never experience again. "First of all, how dare you. And secondly, Pitch Perfect may not be a cinematic masterpiece, but it's a fun movie. Not my favorite, though, and now I'm beginning to wonder what you think of me." 

"So show me, and make me eat a slice of humble pie." He is digging into another bite when she sits and selects the movie through muscle memory, two titles to the left and select. 

The opening credits start immediately, giving away the title before the aerial scroll begins, and Rey smiles, suddenly feeling calmer than she's been in ages. Ben makes no noise, but she can feel him settle back into the couch, expanding his body to its full length and height, and Bee-Bee sits in front of them on the floor, staring up at them with the definition of pure puppy dog eyes. 

"Beetlejuice, great choice." 

"And you tried to disparage my great moral character." Only a fourth of the pie remains, and she turns away from him to keep it to herself. 

"Well, pie never." 

A loud laugh bursts out of her, scaring the dog enough that he scuttles backwards. "Pie couldn't care less." 

"Pie see what you did there," now he is smiling too, full on and bright, the dimples in his cheeks clear as day. 

"Beauty is in the pie of the beholder, Benjamin." 

"A pie for a pie, Rey. Pie one, get one free. My mother makes these everyday." 

"Goodpie, cruel world. I'm done for now." She sets the aluminum pie plate down on the couch next to him, too full of laughs and food to continue eating. 

They lull easily into silence, comfortable and serene, as they watch the Maitlands and Beetlejuice discuss the undead. 

"I saw this movie for the first time when I was in foster care. It resonated with me, almost everything about Lydia and Barbara and Adam, so when I finally aged out of the system I legally changed my last name to Maitland. It's better than any other fake name.”

She can feel him looking at her, taking her in with his soft brown eyes while he absorbs what she just admitted, and she swallows around nothing but saliva. If he says something... she doesn't know what she'll do, how she will respond to someone else seeing the massive gaping hole in her chest. 

But he doesn't say anything, doesn't respond, except to grab her hand and envelope it in his own. 

It’s enough. 

*

In 2018 she graduates with her baccalaureate degree in April and starts her master's program in August. Every step of the way the Solo family has been there, by her side, with her friends and slowly becoming her family. She can't put a pin on the exact second she realizes it, but it's her truth now. 

Time and time again, Rey and Ben end up as the fifth and six wheels, completely extraneous, and yet still pulled along on double dates with Poe and Finn, and Kaydel and Rose. 

After nearly a year of this business they are so used to it that they don't even shrug as they sit at a table set for six, waiting for everyone to join them for dinner. 

"So, how are your classes going? Same as the old stuff?" He is on his second rum and cola, drinking them far faster than she's ever witnessed before, but she knows Ben, is so comfortable and familiar with him that she won't start worrying just yet. 

"Same shit, different expectations." She shrugs and sips at her cola. 

Movement on the other side of the restaurant catches her eye. Almost instantly she recognizes one of the people engaging in a kiss much too x-rated for public consumption. She mentally wills Ben to keep his eyes on her, to not turn around and catch his fiancée with another man. What will she do to keep his attention on her?

The answer runs at them both, shaken and disheveled, and very much out of breath. 

"Poe! Hey man, what's going on?" Rey and Ben are both on their feet, holding Poe up as he leans forward, grasping his side and wheezing with every breath he takes. 

"It's dad. He—he, fuck, he had another attack. Mom and Kaydel are already at the hospital. I had to—wait, is that Baz?" 

To her utter and complete horror, Ben follows his brother's eye line and witnesses exactly what she wanted him to avoid. Time slows for an instant, maybe more, as the three of them stare at Bazine hanging all over another man. She looks up and sees them all standing there, and Rey is shocked that Bazine isn't more surprised herself. 

What Rey wants it to walk away, to give them the privacy they deserve and not see the confrontation that is coming, but she wants to be there for them during such difficult times, and so a small part of her refuses to turn away. 

"Ben." Bazine is tall and beautiful, standing in front of the man she is supposed to marry with her hands on her hips, chin jutting out in defiance. 

His body is tight like steel, and she watches his fists clench by his sides. "It was only a matter of time then, right? How long has this been going on?"

"Awhile." 

"We will... meet you in the car." Poe quickly grabs Rey by the arm, forcefully dragging her outside to his car. 

"That was awful." 

"Oh, Poe. First your dad and now this? Ben is going to be crushed." 

"Ben is stronger than you may think. He's stronger than all of us." 

They sit in silence for who knows how long before Ben gets in the passenger side, buckles his seatbelt, and instructs his brother to drive. 

"Ben..." Rey starts, unsure of exactly what she needs to say, but still feels the need to do something. 

"It's alright, Rey. I swear. Let's just get to the hospital and see how mom and dad are doing. They need us right now." His hand rests on the back of the headrest, right in front of her face, and she doesn't hesitate to reach out and hold his hand just as he held hers in the past. 

Poe drives like a mad man, and everyone is there, Rose and Finn included, when they walk into the waiting room about fifteen minutes later. Rey and Ben make their rounds, hugging everyone until they get to Leia and they both sandwich her between them. 

"It's going to be okay, mom." 

"We're here for you, Leia. Anything you need, just say the word." 

Though Rey has never had parents before, not really, she knows they are all in for a long night if she has learned anything from all the hours of Grey's Anatomy she's sat through in the past. People come and go, in and out through the emergency room doors, and they all drink down as much coffee as they can tolerate to stay awake and remain vigilant. 

The hours pass by, night comes and goes, and they're all nearly comatose in the quiet when a doctor comes out, dressed in scrubs, stopping in front of Leia who seems to be the only one to actually fall asleep in this place. 

Ben shakes her lightly, but speaks in a soft tone so as to not scare her. "Mom, wake up. The doctor's here." 

"My name is Dr. Holdo," the lavender haired woman begins. "I was the lead cardiac surgeon who operated on Mr. Solo. He had a number of arteries fully blocked. I understand that this was not his first cardiac event. Tonight I completed a triple bypass to alleviate issues with at least three arteries that had narrowed and become blocked due to the build up of plaque. The surgery went very well, and Mr. Solo is currently in his room, still coming out of the anesthesia. You can all go in and visit once he's awake, but don't overwhelm him." 

Leia propels herself into the other woman's arms, taking them all by surprise with the ferocity of her appreciation. In the blink of an eye, Rey finds herself squeezed against Ben's chest, his arms wrapped so tightly around her that little starbursts overtake her field of vision, but it's also perfect. 

"Thank you for being here, Rey. You have no idea how much it means to me." 

If she is crying, it's only because she's so happy to hear that Han is going to be alright. 

*

Everyone happily gives 2018 the finger as they welcome 2019 with bright hopes and dreams. 

Finn proposes to Poe in July, and everyone dives headlong into preparations for the months when the weather promises to be mild. They set the date almost immediately: November 1, 2019. 

"You have to be my best woman," Finn says to her one rainy Wednesday at the beginning of September as they're looking over different kinds of flowers for table centerpieces. 

"I'd love to, you know you don't even have to ask." 

"And Ben has agreed to be Poe's best man." Finn winks at her, and she feels her cheeks heat instantly in reaction. Her crush, if that's what it can actually be called, has always been unspoken and unnamed. It shouldn't surprise her that he is able to somehow pick up on it. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." 

He lets the topic drop there, and she's thankful for that as both Solo brothers walk through the door with arms full of burgers, fries, and shakes from Bad Daddys Burger Bar. By now Rey is the only one sleeping at their house most of the time, and it's become exceedingly lonely. 

"You have to stop feeding us this shit if we're supposed to fit into our dresses." 

Still, she happily digs in, food being one thing she loves without question and will never turn down.

All three men snicker in response. 

"No one is concerned about you fitting into your dress." Hearing it out of Ben's mouth makes something flutter heavily inside her chest. 

She shoves a large handful of fries into her mouth to avoid having to lodge any kind of response to that. It is getting harder and harder to be around him day in and day out without opening up about her feelings, but she's much more concerned about telling him how she feels if there's a chance he might turn her away. That would ruin everything. 

A life spent pining after Ben Solo is better than a life totally void of him. 

People always leave her, that's a fact of life, and it never gets easier. 

Ben and Poe bookend Rey and Finn on the couch, squishing the best friends in closer and closer so everyone can fit on the old and worn piece of furniture. 

"How about a movie? It's my favorite time of year," her voice takes on that singsong quality as she flips through different apps on the tv. 

All three men share a look behind her back, but no one voices any disagreement. 

"Corpse Bride seems particularly fitting, don't you think?"

*

The week of Halloween is big in Slaughterville, with a name like that it has to be, but even more so on the farm where there's never a quiet minute with an enormous crowd at all hours of the day and night. 

In the days leading up to the wedding, the best man and best woman do their best to stay on top of things. Rey has done everything in her power to finish school work ahead of time, and she's basically been living in Kaydel's old room in the farmhouse. 

It's nice being so close to Leia and Han, and it doesn't hurt that Ben manages to fall asleep on the couch most nights. 

Leia is always up before the sun, making the hungry horde enough of a breakfast to survive a cross country trek over the Oregon Trail. "You all have enough to do today, so eat up. Eat some eggs, please. The protein will keep you going." 

Last night was one of the few she passed out before everyone else, meaning Ben managed to go back to his own house. 

"Leia, you do too much. I really just need a cup of coffee." 

"No sirree. Food then coffee. I won't have you developing an ulcer all because of this wedding. When you're staying under my roof you're under my care and that's that." 

"Yes, ma'am," Rey whispers back in response, clearly knowing when she is beat. Han gives her a smile and chuckles. 

She hears boots on the porch before the door opens, the breeze carrying leaves in with Ben, "good morning all." It is customary for him to kiss his mother's cheek, squeeze his father's shoulder, and bestow upon Rey a smile that's made to incinerate her insides.

Scuffing the chair legs on the hardwood floor, Ben easily slides into the seat next to her, pulling a special surprise for her from behind his back. "One pumpkin spice latte for the best woman." 

"Benjamin Solo, I could kiss you. You're a lifesaver." She wants nothing more than to loop time backwards, shove the words back into her mouth, and mash them down to disintegrate in her stomach. It happens in the movies, but it doesn't happen to her. 

"Consider it a favor, that's all." 

Leia wheels Han off to the porch to enjoy the morning breeze, leaving behind a stuffy and uncomfortable silence she can't seem to escape from as she shovels more eggs and bacon into her mouth. Anyone with proper etiquette would be scandalized by the way she eats, but it's one of her many charms. She is more concerned about eating the food than looking nice while doing it. 

But when she looks up, all she sees on Ben's face is a wistful smile and warm eyes. Does he intend to leave her absolutely undone all the time? 

"What's on the schedule today?" 

He picks at the remaining pieces of hash browns still on her plate, popping them into his mouth and thinking while he's chewing away. "We can set up the hay bales behind the corn maze today. That's going to be the best location, the easiest to put together and dismantle. If you can help me—to make sure everything looks nice because I don't have that eye—I'd really appreciate it." 

All the acreage behind the corn maze is where the pumpkins and other vegetables are grown. Most of the field is picked over by now, guests have trudged through it for months already, but the visual of the sky behind it, with the trees creating a natural border will make it an unforgettable backdrop. The sky will be beautiful right at dusk when they finish their vows, when they're pronounced husbands and seal it all with a kiss. 

She shakes herself out of the confines of her own mind, taking in the natural scent of the overturned field along with something else sweet lingering in the air. 

Her best friend is going to be married in a few days and surely that means he will move out for good, and that's another person gone from Rey's life. Tears fall from her eyes before she realizes the path her mind has started down, and try as she might, it's impossible to keep it to herself. 

"Rey? Are you alright?" 

Her own deep seated pride won't allow her to explain why she's upset. It's ridiculous. Finn's not really leaving her, after all. He will still live close by, they will still get together a number of times throughout the week, and Poe will be an even bigger part of her life. 

"I'm fine," she smiles and brushes the tears away. "I am so happy for them. I can't believe it's only been three years since that fateful day when the whole family tried to have me killed." 

Faster than traveling light, he is kneeling down before her, holding onto her clasped hands with his own. "I know you, Maitland. You can talk to me." 

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Promise." 

"Close your eyes. Trust me for a moment, please." She nods and keeps her eyes open long enough to see him stand. "Closed now, thank you." 

Her lungs take in a great long pull of oxygen as her eyelashes flutter mindlessly on her cheeks. It's fine. This is Ben, and she feels safe with him, but the little voice deep inside her mind says differently. It says that he will never love her, never want her, that he is much too good for her. 

"Quiet whatever is telling you that you're not worthy of love. I know you worry about things changing, about people leaving you," his voice draws closer to her ear, "but you can count on me. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, Rey."

"Ben. I don't—"

He pushes through whatever she intended to say, and she might have considered stomping on his foot for his impatience, but she has a feeling whatever's coming is worth it.

"I think I see it in your eyes sometimes, but then it's gone just as quickly. There were so many times I had the words on the tip of my tongue, and ultimately I was dissuaded by one thing or another. The point is this: you're not getting away and you're not getting rid of me. Don't try to hide yourself, please. You are so beautiful," his fingers tangle in the short hair at the nape of her neck. 

"Rey. Open your eyes." It takes her a second to do as he directs. Her breath catches in her throat, totally overwhelmed, as her hazel eyes bore into his own brown eyes, so full of meaning and emotion. 

"Can I kiss you?" Fearful that this is nothing more than a deep dream about to turn dark, she pinches her own bicep between the short nails on her left hand. He takes this all in, watching each and every move she makes while he waits for an answer, his eyes returning to scatter between her lips and her eyes and back again. 

"I've wanted to hear that for the last three years," her smile is nearly blinding, and Ben is opening his mouth to respond when she bounces onto the balls of her feet, drawing their lips together as if on a collision course from the start. 

Kissing him is so vastly different from every other person she's kissed during her lifetime, romantic or not. The build up makes that first touch even more climatic, his lips so soft and pillowy that she will forever be jealous of anyone who was lucky enough to kiss him. 

But it's her. Rey Maitland, kissing Benjamin Solo in the spot where her best friend and Ben's brother will wed at the end of the week. 

The thought shakes her enough to send her stumbling back into one of the bales of hay set to be used for seating, causing her to fall back in a clumsy flail of limbs and screams.

When Ben races over and falls down to his knees at her side, he finds her laughing loudly enough to possibly split her side, not hurt in any way. He looks down at her with his own eyes and devolves into similar rounds of laughter, moving to lay beside her on his back, their fingers laced together as they have been so many times in the past. 

"Is this real? Is it actually happening?" 

He brings their hands up to his mouth, dropping three kisses to the back of her hand. "If I wasn't so stupid it would have happened much sooner. I'm sorry about that. I never dreamt you might feel the same way about me." 

It's true that she laughs more around him than anyone else, but sometimes he says things that are so ridiculous there is no appropriate response other than to laugh outright.

Turned over onto his side, he looks at her as if she's gone a bit crazy. "Handsome Ben Solo thinks I wouldn't feel the same way?" She shakes her head before trying to drag them both up to their feet and get moving. "You may be gorgeous, but you're crazy, and we have so much left to do." 

*

The day of the wedding is upon them, the sun nearly above the sky when Rey wakes up tucked neatly under Ben's arm, his chest rising and falling deeply while he still continues to slumber. Turning onto her side, just enough that she can take him in fully, Rey is eternally thankful that he prefers to sleep without a shirt. Seeing all his tattoos is a true sight to behold. 

She always thought that if she had a night with him it would be no holds barred, clothes flying every which way, and more orgasms than she can count on both hands. 

It didn't go that way last night, but not for lack of trying. She had him shirtless, nibbling her way down his throat, when she heard the first of his snores. More than anything it was cute, and she happily laid down, curled into his side and let exhaustion take her under too. 

He is perfect, utterly and completely, but she has never experienced any doubts about that before today. 

"Watching someone sleep is pretty creepy, you know." 

Rey falls over onto her back, so surprised she nearly tumbled off the bed, and yelps rather loudly. Smacking him sharply on the chest, she sits up beside him and crosses her arms over her chest, still fully clothed save for the leggings she took off during the night. "You scared me half to death! How dare you." 

"Aw, babe. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Come back here," he sits up and holds his arms open for her. 

She doesn't let a second go by before crawling over to him and taking a seat atop his thighs. "I'm babe now, am I?" 

Ben nods once. "You are. Do you have a problem with that?" Instantly his hands make their way to her hips, adjusting her exactly how he wants her, and then he simply looks at her, but it is a heated glance so fierce she can feel the sensation begin in her belly, growing and growing until she's sure he can feel how wet she's become. 

"I'm sorry I fell asleep last night," he says as he plants a kiss on her jaw. "I hope in your overwhelming show of benevolence you will grant me a rain check for a night we're not staying at my parent's place." He ducks in closer to her ear and whispers, "so I can make you come so hard you scream." 

"I didn't realize you were so mean, Ben Solo." 

"Mean? How am I mean?"

She wiggles a bit, enjoying feeling him hard underneath her. "You know we have so much to do today and yet you're clearly trying to get me all worked up." 

"So it's working?" 

Taking his hand, she rises up on her knees and allows him to palm her over her underwear, immediately rewarding her with a deep groan and a finger nearly pressed inside her. 

"Save it for later, baby. We have a lot of life ahead of us still." 

*

Finn, Rey, and Rose meet up for manicures, pedicures, and facials followed by lunch before returning to their house to get dressed. She is finding it so difficult to keep up a conversation with anyone when her mind is still back in bed with Ben. 

It does not go unnoticed. 

"—But I heard Ben got up there and stripped too. He took it all off."

"What?" 

Rose holds her hand out to Finn. "You owe me twenty bucks." 

He pouts, "that was a given and you know it." 

"You are both rude," Rey says before tossing one of the blue sequined pillows at them. It's not a far journey, but Finn is able to slap it away. 

They both roll their eyes at her, and she's tempted to announce the news to them then and there, but all is fair in love and war and nothing would bring her more joy than seeing the two of them sweat for awhile. 

"Alright, groomzilla. Let's talk about your plans for after the wedding. Am I going to be out one roommate or two?"

It is true that they are all at different points in their lives and she can forgive them for that; hell, she has no doubt that she would make the same decisions they did if she’d found Ben single all those years ago. All she truly wants out of life is happiness for herself and the people she loves most. They are all quite a ways down that path already. 

By 4:00 PM, the girls are finishing up their makeup while Finn paces around the hallway, still wearing his sweats. 

“You can't be nervous,” Rose is leaning in dangerously close to the bathroom mirror while she works the waterproof mascara over her eyelashes. 

Finn stops and throws his hands up in the air. “I don't know what I am, truth be told. One minute I’m excited and the next I’m terrified of what comes next. Help.” 

In a matter of seconds he is surrounded and smothered in their embrace with whispered words of wisdom. He is the first of their friends to take this leap so they don't talk from experience, but from a soulful understanding that this right. 

Words come to Rose first. “Do you remember why you proposed to him? Keep thinking about that, that's what matters.” 

While she's calming the groom, Rey scrambles around and gathers everything they need, tossing this and that and those into her large bag, before instructing the both of them to grab their garment bags so they can get on the road. 

Kaydel and Leia have everything set up at the dining room table, transforming the small room into a makeshift salon for a few short hours. 

“Finn, take a seat over here,” his soon-to-be mother-in-law directs him around like it's nothing. “What is it with you boys and nervous energy? You act as if you're giving a speech in front of the entire free world instead of standing before a small group of your most loved ones. Sheesh.” 

They all attempt to hide their smiles behind their hands, phones, or whatever is within reach, but Leia is having none of it. 

“Nothing from the peanut gallery, thank you, or I may start pulling.” She yanks on a long strand of Rey’s hair for good measure. Rey effectively zips her lips for the exceedingly lengthy amount of time it takes to complete a rather sophisticated half up/half down hairstyle with a large braid wrapped around the crown of her head. Rose’s hair is meant to match, but she has a feeling that her sweetie is being much gentler with her designs. 

A cloud of aerosolized hairspray engulfs them and then they're free to run off to an empty bedroom and get dressed. 

Rey is tucked away inside the bedroom she woke up in that morning, lifting her strapless bra (soooo unnecessary, she thinks) to try and create the illusion of cleavage where none can normally be found, when the door opens and Ben rushes in. 

“What are you doing?!” She hisses at him under her breath, trying to avoid any unwanted attention. 

“Wow, just—fuck. You look spectacular in that dress. I wanted to say hello and get one of these,” he leans down and drops a kiss to her lips. It's chaste, but she can see him coming back in for another before she pushes him away. 

“Benjamin Solo, you get out of here right this minute. Today is your brother’s day and we are not taking away from that, so you will pretend you found your cuff links and leave if you ever want to see me dressed in a lot less than this.” She stands with her hips angled to the left, her left leg visible to her upper thigh through the high slit in the fabric of her dress. 

He gives her one last long look before he attempts to rearrange the large bulge in his dress pants, working his jaw as he usually does when he's thinking particularly long and hard, and waves as he soundlessly exits out into the hallway. 

_Deep breaths, Rey_. 

*

Finn and Poe seal their union with a kiss at the moment the sun disappears below the horizon. It is a perfect moment, one she will never be able to forget, feeling the happiness and joy deep in her bones as she looks at Ben, seeing him smiling profusely, his hands clasped together in front of him, while he stares at her so fondly she worries she may cry. 

The shoes her dictator of a best friend forces her to wear begin to cut into her heels and toes around hour two, requiring her to take a seat at a table far removed from the dance floor where she can wiggle her toes in the dewy grass. Moving to her feet, Rey leaves the torture devices atop the table and starts to walk back when a thick arm grabs her around the middle, lifting her off her feet with far too much ease. 

“Where are you running off to?” A husky voice breezes into her ear as she’s hauled back and held tight against the rock hard body behind her. 

She squeals softly until she gets her hand twined around his waist, worried she might fall over though she knows he will never drop her. “Excuse me, sir, but I have a party to get back to and an extremely handsome man who I can't keep waiting.” 

“Can't keep him waiting? Why not?” 

“Because he made me promises that I intend to collect on.” 

“Promises, huh?” His fingers skim over her shoulder, brushing her hair aside to give him free reign over the arch of her neck, the scratch of his stubble heightening each and every feeling that shakes through her body. 

Her mouth is open, ready to respond, when Leia passes by them, muttering under her breath “get a room.” 

Rey is ready to laugh or maybe even respond, she's not fully sure, until she looks across the yard and sees everyone staring over at them, mouths hanging open and looks of utter shocked etched across their faces. 

“It’s about damn time!” Poe yells at them before escorting his husband back to the dance floor. 

Happiness is spreading through her veins as she turns and pulls Ben down to meet her, his smile reaching all the way to his eyes, and she kisses him like her life depends on it. 

And maybe it does. For a little while longer at least. 

“Take me home, Paul Bunyan.” 

He deposits a single soft kiss to the tip of her nose. “Pie thought you'd never ask.”


End file.
